Switzerland says no to relocation of migrants from Italy and Greece
The current Italian government has taken a hardline approach to migrants arriving on its shores with the aim of persuading other EU countries to do their "fair share".
Keystone
Switzerland has rejected a second asylum seeker relocation programme proposed by the European Union to relieve the burden on frontier countries like Italy and Greece.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/ac
According to the SonntagsBlick paper, a spokesperson from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) has confirmed that currently Switzerland has no plans to renew its commitment to accept asylum seekers from southern European countries. The Alpine nation had participated in the first such relocation programme in 2015, pledging to take in 1,500 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece. So far, 902 asylum seekers from Italy and 579 from Greece have been admitted under the first relocation programme.
The EU had launched a second relocation programme last autumn and in a letter from EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, Switzerland was also asked to accommodate as many people as possible. The request was rejected. According to the SEM, there are no longer enough people in Greece and Italy who meet the criteria for resettlement, says the articleExternal link published on Sunday. According to these criteria, the persons must have been registered by the EU migration authorities before October 2017 and have a very high chance of obtaining a positive asylum decision.
More
More
Libya’s migrants: Swiss role in Europe’s response
This content was published on
As Switzerland receives a first group of refugees from Libyan detention centres, we look at the international response to the crisis.
Automated driving on Swiss motorways is theoretically possible from March
This content was published on
It will be theoretically possible to hand over the steering wheel to technology but no such system has been submitted for official approval yet.
Heated atmosphere at Swiss rally against AfD politician Alice Weidel
This content was published on
Around 250 people demonstrated "against the right" and the German AfD politician Alice Weidel on Saturday afternoon in Einsiedeln.
This content was published on
The Ethos Foundation recommends that shareholders vote against all compensation-related items at the Annual General Meeting on March 7.
Top Swiss firms close to reaching gender quota in boards
This content was published on
The proportion of women on the boards of directors of the fifty largest listed companies in Switzerland currently stands at 28%.
Swiss committee wants to end government resignations during legislative term
This content was published on
Members of the Federal Council should no longer be able to leave office before the end of their term, according to a House of Representatives committee.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss call for European solidarity on asylum
This content was published on
At a meeting of European ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Sommaruga said that Switzerland will honour its promise of taking in 1,500 refugees from Italy and Greece by the end of this year. “The programme only works if everyone acts in the same manner,” she said. “It [refusal to honour quotas] annoys me because we…
This content was published on
The Monjids - a family of four - are so-called resettlement refugees. How easy has it been for them to settle into life in Switzerland?
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.